At the onset of March 2025, seven executions were scheduled, many of them with short notice. Five of those executions were eventually carried out in five different states, and four of them took place in the span of just three days. The quantity and pacing of executions was noteworthy, particularly as overall national trends continue to demonstrate that Americans are falling out of favor with capital punishment.

But beyond the sheer number of executions, the methods with which these states took the lives of their citizens garnered significant attention.

Scheduled Executions and Outcomes

As March began, seven men were facing execution. This number was a significant increase from the previous four executions carried out in February.

Thankfully, David Wood received a stay of execution in Texas that will allow time for continued court proceedings. This intervention from the courts spared his life.

In Louisiana, Christopher Sepulvado avoided execution only by his own natural death. The 81-year-old man was suffering from several health challenges and was recommended for hospice by healthcare providers. The state of Louisiana was nonetheless prepared to keep Mr. Sepulvado alive long enough to kill him. Days before that scheduled execution, Mr. Sepulvado passed away.

The full March schedule of executions and outcomes was as follows:

March 7 – Brad Sigmon – South Carolina – Executed
March 13 – David Wood – Texas – Execution Stayed
March 17 – Christopher Sepulvado – Louisiana – Died on Death Row
March 18 – Jessie Hoffman – Louisiana – Executed
March 19 – Aaron Gunches – Arizona – Executed
March 20 – Wendell Grissom – Oklahoma – Executed
March 20 – Edward James – Florida – Executed

Execution Methods

South Carolina’s March 7 execution of Brad Sigmon was the state’s first execution by firing squad. In recent years, the state adopted this method in addition to the electric chair as alternatives to lethal injection. The development of execution methods was promulgated by a difficulty many states have experienced in procuring lethal injection drugs from pharmaceutical companies who are unwilling to cooperate in death.

Now, with three execution methods on the books in South Carolina, those facing execution in the state are asked to choose which method the state should use to put them to death. Brad Sigmon chose the firing squad believing that this was the most likely to cause him the least amount of pain and suffering.

Louisiana also used a new execution method this month, taking the life of Jessie Hoffman on March 18 by nitrogen gas suffocation. This recently developed execution method was introduced in Alabama in January 2024. Louisiana is now the only other state beyond Alabama to have used it.

CMN Executive Director responded to the use of these execution methods saying:

“It’s hard not to look at these methods and think, How did we get here? And how does our society think this inhumanity is somehow acceptable? The reality is, those are the questions we should ask ourselves each time there is an execution, because the death penalty is contrary to human dignity and an affront to the sanctity of life.

The outrage we feel toward these execution methods is a reminder that over time, the system of capital punishment has become all the more deceptive to make executions appear more palatable, sterile, and “humane.” But executions are never any of these things.

Whether someone is shot, electrocuted, injected, or gassed each and every execution extinguishes a God-given life with inherent dignity and worth. Each and every execution is a blatant act of state sanctioned violence.”